Christin's Behind-the-Scenes Sunday đ„
Honeyritual, The Writer's Studio, Drawtober, and Creative Energy
Dear Ones,
Happy Halloween! đ Iâm in Chicago visiting some dear friends, where I get to practice my STRONG Konmari tendencies. Itâs THE BEST. Let me know if you know anyone who wants help with organizing their physical stuff.
3 Updates:
This week was peppered with updates for my tea company, honeyritual. We revamped our website and are now available on Amazon with free prime shipping. My one ask, if you are interested in stocking up for the holidays, is to purchase from Amazon and leave us a review. Turns out, Amazonâs search algorithm is tuned heavily towards 5-star ratings and without them, we arenât even discoverable when you search for honeyritual tea by name. đ€Šđ»ââïž Help us out of this search algorithm black hole and weâll be forever grateful!
Iâm now enrolled in The Writerâs Studio with Michael Dean, a continuation/supplement of the Write of Passage program. Here are my live notes if youâd like to learn more about what weâre learning. This class helps to clarify my thinking about the cohort-based course (CBC) that Iâm building with my co-founder Christine. We are submitting our applications to Mavenâs Course Accelerator program, and itâs something weâve been thinking about since we attended an Esalen retreat together earlier in the year. The current thinking is a curated blend of â[Best ofâ Write of Passage/Build-A-Second-Brain] x [Buddhist teachings with neuroscience] x [Stanfordâs Interpersonal Dynamics program]. Together, we would like to create a supportive framework and community for cultivating rich inner/outer worlds. What do you think? Let me know by replying to this email!
Lastly, I had a âsenpai noticed meâ moment with my drawtober artwork today. Received a reply from Peter, one of my favorite artists of all time:
3 Bullets of Vulnerability:
This week I attended a small Insight Meditation Center group gathering led by Maria Straatmann. I shared that I have been feeling this burst of creative energy lately (like the âgoodâ parts of grad schoolâthat buzz of intellectual stimulation.) But these highs also feel like they push me from my reference point of inner stillness and peace. And the greater issue is that I feel extra self-consciousâif Iâm someone whoâs trying to teach mindfulness/Buddhism stuff, itâs pretty obvious that I donât come across as a Super Zen person!
I think I shared this because Maria is quite a high-energy person and quite different from Gil Fronsdal as a teacher, and she said that she was concerned if I was trying to âsuppressâ my energy to fit a preconceived notion. Instead she advised that I can let creative energy be what it is, and when it is released, that is when one can find the stillness.
I really liked that answer and got me thinking about the diversity of personalities represented in the Buddhist suttas. (âŠAnd this is where I went down the rabbit hole of research, but I could not find this story again for the life of me. Itâs something about a monk who behaved like a monkey and jumped about as he walked, and the other monks were making fun of him and complained to the Buddha for being not âmonk-like.â Then the Buddha admonished the monks for criticizing him because turns out, the monk was indeed previously a monkey but is enlightened anywayâŠI will share this story once I find the source!)
Warm Wishes,
Christin
P.S. Iâm switching from Substack to Revue for this newsletter soon, so please excuse the dust as I migrate us over. đ§č
Nice sketches indeed! Reminded me of the RSAnimate: https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms And how great that you are in the Writing Studio!
Wow, you're a great artist! Curious, why switch from Revue?